In the 1970s, an aero engine test facility (dt.: Triebwerksversuchsanlage , TVA) with two different test rigs was set up at the ISA to study complete engines and engine components. It is used both for teaching purposes and for research projects. Since 2007, the facility has been part of the MTU Aero Engines Center of Excellence on More Electric Engine Technologies established at the Bundeswehr University. In addition to targeted cooperation with industrial partners, the ISA's activities at the TVA also contribute to the enhancement of capabilities and the assessment of technologies in the field of highly integrated propulsion and power supply systems, both in the context of military requirements and in the civilian environment.
Aero Engine Test Bed
The facility was designed for academic and research operation of turbojet and small turbofan engines. In a comprehensive modernization in 2011, the achievable thrust level was increased from 30kN to 50kN. Currently, four different engine types are available to the institute for various purposes:
As a research engine for topics in the field of compressor instabilities and their active combating, a Larzac 04 C5 was upgraded and equipped with extensive measurement technology. It provides an excellent platform for this type of research and enables bachelor and master theses in current research areas. Developed and distributed by the companies SNECMA and Turbomeca, it was used to power the Alpha Jet of the German Air Force.
For research in the field of More Electric Engine (MEE), but also beyond, a modern turbojet engine MexJET of the type EJ200 was put into operation within the competence center at the end of 2011. Since then, it has provided a very attractive test bed for future research tasks.
The Bristol-Siddeley Orpheus is a simple single-shaft engine that is preferably used in teaching as part of the Apparatus Practical Course. The engine was used in the Air Force in the Fiat G91 until 1982.
In addition, the institute has a Rolls Royce RB145 with afterburner, which, however, is used exclusively for demonstration purposes. This engine from the 1960s was never installed in a production aircraft, but was used exclusively in the EWR VJ-101 vertical takeoff prototype.
Research and training opportunities on these large-scale test vehicles have been intensively supplemented by the use of small engines for the preparation and analysis of complex parameter studies.
Test Vehicles at ISA
Component Test & Scaled Propulsion Altitude Test Facility
Previously, a dedicated component test bench was available at ISA in addition to the activities at the engine test stand. This included a centrifugal compressor and axial turbine test stand, as well as a screw compressor for generating air for various test formats.
Within the framework of a project funded by dtec.bw (LINK), plans are currently being implemented to supplement the components available in this test room in such a way that the possibility of testing small engines (up to approx. 3kg/s total design mass flow) under altitude and flight conditions is provided. In particular, future investigations will focus on the effects of specific mission aspects and maneuvers on the performance of propulsion and power supply systems for small aircraft. The possibilities of the emerging facility shall also consider a specific mission simulation as well as far-reaching aspects of the energy and thermal budget of these propulsion systems. (Link to projects!!)
The commissioning of the facility in a first expansion stage is planned until the end of 2023.
Center of Excelence MORE ELECTRIC ENGINE
On Wednesday, December 19, 2007, MTU Aero Engines and the University of the German Armed Forces in Munich established a joint "More Electric Engine" center of excellence and agreed on a long-term collaboration in this field. The competence center is to develop concepts for engines that can meet the high electrical power requirements of future generations of aircraft. The agreement was signed by the contracting parties on the university campus in Neubiberg. Dr. Rainer Martens, MTU's Chief Technology Officer, and Prof. Dr. Merith Niehuss, President of the German Armed Forces University, signed on behalf of MTU.
Attractive partnership
MTU Aero Engines already maintains centers of excellence on various topics with RWTH Aachen, TU Munich and TU Stuttgart. "We are very pleased about the new center of excellence - especially with a partner with whom we have been working successfully for more than two decades," said MTU's chief technology officer Martens, referring to the cooperation with the University of the German Armed Forces in Munich. The university's president, Prof. Niehuss, explained: "We may be a small university, but we need not shy away from comparison. The new competence center underscores the importance of the Bundeswehr University as an attractive partner for application-oriented research in the field of aviation." She said she was particularly pleased that the competence center would enable research to be conducted "beyond faculty boundaries." In addition to the Institute for Jet Propulsion at the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering (Prof. Reinhard Niehuis), professorships from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology are also involved: Electrical Propulsion Technology and Actuators (Prof. Dieter Gerling) and Sensors and Measuring Systems. All the partners involved in the competence center expect beneficial synergies from the technology development work already underway between Prof. Gerling and EADS on the subject of "More Electric Aircraft".
More environmentally compatible aircraft
The aim of the cooperation is to develop technological "More Electric Engine" solutions as well as the necessary components and measurement and control systems. In the future, more electronic components are to be used in aircraft. This is one way of increasing the economy and environmental compatibility of passenger aircraft. The electrical energy required for this is supplied by the engine. For this reason, the engine architecture must be expanded, among other things by integrating new, powerful generators.